missing hen

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Ashlea

Ashlea

Chirping
5 Years
Oct 3, 2014
28
0
67
Thomasburg Ontario
We just recently had a fox visit our property. Three of my hens out foxed him and made it home but one is still on the lam. We saw her yesterday in the brush but she managed to disappear into thin air. Any tips on catching a chicken? She's managed for a week on her own but I would feel better and I'm sure she would if she was home with her sisters.
 
I'm glad she got away from the fox!
smile.png



You can try luring her with food, putting one of her sisters in a crate near where you last saw her to lure her out (make sure her sister has food and water), and make sure to bring a net too!

Best of luck!
smile.png
 
My hens come running when they hear their treats or food being shaken. Have you tried that?
 
Maybe try putting a bowl of feed out near where you last saw her. Keep putting food out for a week or so and if she has found it, she will realize it's an easy source of food rather than foraging. After a while, gradually move the food closer to the coop. If you have places that are under cover (brush is good) to place the food, she will be more willing to eat there. Hopefully this will at least keep her around long enough for you to gain her trust. She may even realize the other hens have a nice cozy roost to sleep on at night and just join them there. They are flock animals so they don't prefer to be alone...
One other option, although it might be a little frightening for the chicken, is a havahart animal trap. I forgot that I had one set (usually only set them at night) and one of my hens went in, in the morning, to check it out and got "caught". You would have to check it really frequently because if she goes in there, she would be vulnerable to predators, like raccoons, sticking their paws in to get her. I would use this as a last resort though.
 
mirandaleecon said:
Maybe try putting a bowl of feed out near where you last saw her. Keep putting food out for a week or so and if she has found it, she will realize it's an easy source of food rather than foraging. After a while, gradually move the food closer to the coop. If you have places that are under cover (brush is good) to place the food, she will be more willing to eat there. Hopefully this will at least keep her around long enough for you to gain her trust. She may even realize the other hens have a nice cozy roost to sleep on at night and just join them there. They are flock animals so they don't prefer to be alone...
One other option, although it might be a little frightening for the chicken, is a havahart animal trap. I forgot that I had one set (usually only set them at night) and one of my hens went in, in the morning, to check it out and got "caught". You would have to check it really frequently because if she goes in there, she would be vulnerable to predators, like raccoons, sticking their paws in to get her. I would use this as a last resort though.
Click to expand...
This^^^

Agrees if she was new to your home and wasn't 'homed' to the coop for a couple weeks before free ranging, then she'll have to be trapped or lured in......
.....and then maybe confined for awhile to achieve the aforementioned 'homing'.
 
Thank you! It's so hard to find her and she's so close to the others. I really thought we would be able to flush her out. She's a wild chicken now! We are half expecting her to come out of the brush dressed like rambo!
 

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